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"We are becoming a truly multinational company" - interview with the new HR and Communications Director of Colas

Published

2023. 09. 12. 10:33
He has not been offered an easy ride in the construction industry, but he can draw on the experience and knowledge that has helped him successfully manage the HR challenges of change in large companies in many industries. Focusing on opportunities rather than shortcomings, Melinda Grátz builds primarily with an observer rather than a critic approach, and says that Colas leaders feel the pace of change.

Colas Hungary has appointed a new HR and Communications Director this spring, Melinda Grátz has been in the role for three months now. We spoke to the professional, who has significant experience in several industries, at the company's headquarters.

Played a key role in building global HR management at LG

Looking back to his very first steps in HR, he says that he was working as an internal business development manager at LG nearly 20 years ago when his supervisor, recognising his skills, suggested that he should also look into HR. Soon after, life had it in store for him to replace the HR manager there."In this role, I became the regional HR manager for the nine country subsidiaries of the Hungarian division. I continued to lead IT, operations and procurement, but HR was starting to take over the top spot in my professional life."

He stressed that this was his main experience in global HR management in a multinational company with a presence in several countries.

"A manager in the company had just started the development of global HR management, so I was involved in the process from the beginning, growing up with the new system and learning from the best people during its implementation."

In the process, she says, she found her true calling: "It was never far from my mind to deal with people, maybe that's what the above-mentioned leader saw, and eventually the direction he encouraged me to go in worked out, because to this day I feel very comfortable in this field."

Melinda Grátz HR and Communications Director, Colas Hungary
Photo by Mihály Nagy/magyarepitok.hu

This is the kind of learning that you can only experience by joining a new organisation

He held this position at LG for nearly ten years until he decided to make the switch after an exciting request. French-owned ALD Automotive, the vehicle leasing and fleet management subsidiary of Societé Générale Group, offered to fill the vacant position of HR Director. It was an advantage that he had previously been involved in fleet management at LG, so he was familiar with the company's core business.

"It's likely that if it wasn't for this request, I would have retired from LG, because I loved working there, I loved my colleagues and the variety of tasks I had. I owe a lot to the HR-minded Korean management who were excellent mentors to me."

It has also been successful in aligning multinational and Hungarian business culture

ALD purchased the Autopark Zrt. from MKB Bank at that time. "The latter was a company with a Hungarian corporate culture, which was integrated into the ALD team after the acquisition"

The acquisition, which involved a significant expansion, proved to be an exciting challenge. "It has been a real challenge to broaden my professional knowledge and to be involved in the development of a new corporate culture that is the result of the fusion of two different cultures. It was a difficult but wonderful time", he recalls. "It was an interesting question how we could merge a multinational company culture based on English correspondence with a company with a completely Hungarian background and Hungarian customs. As well as how we can create completely new common values to make everyone feel at home and avoid tensions."

It also held its own in a much larger and more diversified stock

The next shift was based on the inner formulation of a personal dream. "I wanted to be somewhere outside Budapest, somewhere in the country. I'd been cherishing this for years, until I was approached by a headhunter who said they were looking for an HR director in Veszprém County.

Not primarily because of the job, but because of the geographical parameters of the job itself, I personally listened to the opportunity. It turned out to be a unique job in terms of its professionalism: to lead the HR team at the Continental Automotive Hungary Kft. site, which employs thousands of people. Again, it was an offer you don't get every day."

The much higher staffing levels compared to her previous job and the fact that the workforce was highly diversified was an attractive challenge. "In addition to manufacturing, there is also a large R&D department, unique in Hungary, and the intellectual staff known from normal company structures. This brought a completely new kind of experience." He took this job in 2018 and spent five years there.

"The automotive industry is a very exciting, but very difficult and intense industry, unrivalled by any other, and has given me a lot of new experiences. I'm happy to have held my own, successfully tackled the challenges of the Covid era, managed to build a super team and made a lot of changes with them, for which I'm grateful."

He was not promised an easy job in the construction industry, but he can build on nearly 20 years of experience

The year 2023 marked another change for him, this time he was approached by a headhunting firm, opening up a new industry, construction.

„I listened to my instincts a little bit when making my decision, because the managers at Colas were extremely personable from our very first conversations. Both my manager in France and the Chairman and CEO, György Zsiga, were able to authentically convey the corporate culture I will be joining. They did not promise that it would be easy, but I believe that my experience over the past 20 years will help me to take on the challenges here.”

He added that he started working for the company three months ago and that these good feelings have remained with him throughout his daily work.

It is important to note that the HR and Communications Directorate, which he heads, is responsible for all the Hungarian subsidiaries of the Colas group, and not only for the processes of Colas Hungária Zrt.. The manager has indicated that of the two tasks, communication is also close to his heart, having previously been responsible for this area and always having been in charge of employer branding.

They undergo a transformation before becoming a butterfly

The three months so far have been spent mainly learning about the different areas of Colas. In the course of this familiarisation, he has of course also visited the companies with autonomous management and the projects in person, but in the first three months he has mainly tried to immerse himself in the internal information of the group. In addition, there were some tasks that he had to carry out immediately on the spot, in accordance with HR's pre-scheduled annual rhythm.

Based on his initial experience, he said that while the construction market is changing, so is the Colas.

"The company is now becoming a truly multinational company, and I will be able to contribute a lot of my experience to help this change. The way I see it, we are in a transformational time leading up to becoming a butterfly. This transformation may not be taken lightly by colleagues who have been here longer. It is not an easy process either. It's what Colas employees around the world are going through right now, so perhaps it's easier than just having to transform here. In my experience, Colas's international leaders are patient and understanding, and they have very good professionals in decision-making positions: they feel and understand the pace at which this can be worked through."

Focusing on opportunities instead of shortcomings

Communication plays an extremely important role in this process.

"Proper training, mentoring, information, perspective and assistance must be given to help everyone see why this change is good and understand that it is a one-way process that will happen anyway."</big

He also said that they want to show why it is worth working here and what motivates employees. "Part of that is to be present at events where we can build a brand with the younger generations and show that this is not just a construction opportunity, but that there are many different types of work to be done here."

He summarised by shifting the focus to opportunities rather than talking about shortcomings. "The way to our new Colas is to try to give as much support as possible, while keeping quality and professionalism at the forefront."

Global HR management implementation underway

In response to a question, he said that strengthening employer branding strengthens both external and internal communication: "It is also an important message to our own employees that they are speaking up and telling us what they do and why it is good to work here. It's also a bonus that colleagues get to know each other better." He added that this communication is closely linked to non-HR project communication: "If we have piqued someone's interest with the employer branding element, they can amplify the effect by seeing what projects we are involved in."

It is not only in the construction industry that the challenge of integrating physical staff into internal communication is a challenge

With a strong physical presence in the construction industry, which for Colas represents almost half of the total, the enterprise mobile app is particularly important to connect more directly with professionals. "Thanks to this, at the end of a tiring day, you don't have to scroll through your mail to follow up on company news and important information. In addition, it also allows us to reach those who don't have a company email address." He explained the dilemma, common in other industries in large companies and amplified during Covid, of how to quickly communicate with physical workers without email addresses.

HR and communication strategy can be linked to a clear corporate strategy

In response to a question, he also said that although he has plenty of experience of the jobs listed above, he still has a lot to learn because of the specificities of the construction industry. "My colleagues all help me a lot in this process every day. I think with every change you have to go through a huge flood of information, the effects of which take about a year to sink in. In a larger company, it can take more than a year before you can move with a very high degree of certainty."

In this process, he singled out György Zsiga, CEO, who is also helping him to understand the European operating mechanism of the Colas.

"As a long-time specialist in the company, he has a lot of information that is essential in my role and that not many people outside of him could pass on. In addition, my managers on the outside also do a great deal to give me a clear view of the global picture that sets the direction of Colas's development. They have very nicely laid out a strategy that we can link to, both in HR and communications."

This is why you should come to work

Within the above-mentioned strategic level, the new director can decide, according to his or her own professional views, the means to implement them in the HR area; however, this is a process that requires constant consultation.

"It is very important for me to get feedback from the managers to ensure that the decision fits with the business expectations and the global strategy of Colas. Along with that, we have the freedom to move within the designated cornerstones, which gives us a lot of creativity, we have the opportunity to build."</big

He said that in the HR and communication team, the approach to the different areas is primarily not critical, but observational, and decisions are prepared with jointly developed professional proposals. "In my experience, the team enjoys trying a lot of new things together, and I think that's the atmosphere that gives the beauty of everyday life and makes it worth coming to work. This is also reflected in the very good constructive feedback we get at work. I have noticed, both with the HR team here and outside, that everyone has an intrinsic motivation to contribute to the project."

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